A student perspective on 6/5’s hearing

Posted by Debbie Rosenbaum

As JFB team’s student publicity person, I spend a lot of time explaining what other people are doing and describing the collective experience of being part of this unique effort.  I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about yesterday’s hearing from my perspective.

For an aspiring lawyer like me, yesterday was truly an exciting day.

I’ve already moved to Washington, D.C. for my 2L summer internship, but I flew back to Boston for the day so I could support my client in his most important hearing to date. Also, as the only non-graduating member of the “student attorney” team, I felt like it was my responsibility to be there.

So I met up with Joel and his mom, Judie, outside the courthouse around 1pm.  Russia TV had come up from New York to do a follow up story on one they did a few weeks ago. Anastasia is totally a fire-cracker and spent some time interviewing Joel and his mom.  (As soon as the online version is available, we’ll be sure to share it with all of you.)

It was a moment I’ll never forget when I got to introduce myself to Judge Gertner and sit beside Professor Nesson at the “big kid’s table.”  Professor Nesson had me prepare to argue a motion in court, so I was pretty nervous.  I think I walked around DC and asked every litigator I knew for tricks and tips.  Unfortunately, the issue of joining the RIAA in a counterclaim never came up for oral argument, so my preparations and adrenalin rushes were moot.

As the hearing went on and I watched Professor Nesson passionately defend our positions, it often felt like he was also defending me.  Defending us. Defending my generation.  Defending the millions of individuals across the world who have grown up with digital music and streaming video.  Those of us who synthesize information by twittering and can pluck out the answer from the vast web in seconds to almost any question.  It was truly moving.

When it was over, I twittered that I felt like the hearing “was rough” and I thought I’d explain what I meant.  Those of us that work on Joel’s case do so not because we get some immaterial credit for school or because we want to bring down the music industry.  Joel isn’t just our client; he is our friend, our peer, and someone who has been brave enough to stand up and fight for a cause that defines our generation.  We work on the case because we deeply, passionately, and personally believe that the RIAA’s litigation campaign against our generation is unfair and unjust.  And we believe that it’s ridiculous to go after individual users.  And we believe in an open internet. And we believe that there is an antiquated system of laws that govern the new media arena.

Those of us that work on the case put everything we have into it.  I don’t know how Judge Gertner will rule on the outstanding motions, but here is one major lesson I will take away from yesterda:  One of the frustrating notions is that I get the feeling she agrees with us in principle and policy, but won’t rule in our favor for many of the motions based on law. That’s a really hard concept to grasp: what’s fair isn’t what is necessarily law.  And for me, that’s what was “rough.”

… but it is also the nature of our adversary legal system.